Republicans can confirm Kavanaugh along party lines, but to do so, they can only afford to lose one vote.

The decision by Corker, who is retiring at the end of his term in January, has occasionally fought with the President, leaves three key Republican senators to watch: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of ME and Jeff Flake of Arizona.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from CT, told Blasey Ford he found her testimony "powerful and credible".

"Democrats' search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham and effort to delay, obstruct, and resist", Trump said.

When asked by the media if the nomination come to the full Senate floor for a vote, Grassley responded "Depends on what happens tomorrow".

He did not ask questions of either Ford or Kavanaugh during the hearing.

The meeting of four key senators occurred less than hour after Kavanaugh finished his testimony before the Judiciary Committee, where he forcefully and passionately maintained his innocence and defiantly challenged Democratic senators who grilled him on multiple allegations of inappropriate behavior.

The editors in July praised Kavanaugh shortly after President Donald Trump nominated him to the high court.

The vote comes one day after hours of emotionally charged testimony from Kavaunaugh and the woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her while they were teenagers.

"In 10 years prosecuting all sorts of cases, from mafia to murder to white collar, I NEVER had a more credible witness than Dr. Ford", Daniel S. Goldman, an NBC News legal analyst and fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, tweeted.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.: "You've never forgotten that laughter". She said Judge, who she has identified as being in the bedroom during the alleged altercation, was arranging shopping carts and seemed "nervous" and didn't want to speak with her.

Good morning and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the crucial Senate judiciary committee hearing in Washington DC. And now, a powerful ally is joining them in that call - an ally which previously supported Kavanaugh.

Ford, her voice sometimes cracking with emotion, appeared in public for the first time to detail her allegations against Kavanaugh.

The American Bar Association late Thursday urged the Judiciary committee and the full Senate to delay the vote until the Federal Bureau of Investigation has time to do a full background check on the claims made by Ford and other women.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says the Democrats' treatment of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is the "most despicable thing" he has seen in politics.

In evidence for the hearing, Kavanaugh acknowledges drinking in high school with his friends, but says he has never done anything "remotely resembling" the sexual misconduct alleged by his chief accuser.

"I was underneath one of them while the two laughed", she said.

Many others were deeply moved by Ford's testimony.

"Have you ever drank so much you didn't remember what happened?" asked Sen.

The bitter fight over Kavanaugh's nomination is unfolding just weeks before the November 6 congressional elections in which Democrats are trying to seize majority control of Congress from the Republicans. The panel's Republican senators, all men, did not question her, assigning that task to Rachel Mitchell, a sex crimes prosecutor.